One Night
by m-is-for-MollyMansfieldMealing
Summary: Birthday present for IsabellaForever- Sam Strachan's back in the UK, but after a year are things going how he expected them to? ;) Hint- nope! They're not xD


**I know I must have said it like, 9834682649 times now but HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISABELLAFOREVER! It took me a while to think of something to do, but here you go! The finished product xD**

 **Hope you have an awesome day! I send hugs and imaginary cake :D -Sophie x**

* * *

"Connie what the _hell_ do you mean you're in labour?!" Sam shouted down his phone, darting around various medics, patients and pools of bodily fluids. He had been back in England a little over a year now, after receiving word that St James' was looking for a new cardiothoracic registrar. He applied on the off chance and soon after discovered he's gotten the job. So he moved back to England again, leaving Kieron but bringing Grace with him.

A month or so after he arrived, Connie found out he was back.

…

 _"_ _Charlie can you do Hattie Steven's bloods please, she's in cubicle 4." The clinical lead asked, walking up to the nurse's station where Charlie was typing on the computer. He nodded and did what he was told, striding over to the cubicle with a calming smile on his face. Satisfied all seemed well in her beloved emergency department, the clinical lead was about to turn and retire to her office for the day when someone barged into her at full force, nearly knocking her sideways. She looked down, startled to find Grace clinging to her waist._

 _"_ _Darling! What on earth are you doing here?!" She exclaimed in surprise, giving her daughter a quick squeeze before she broke away._

 _"_ _Guess?" She said excitedly, but before the tall brunette had the chance to say a word, the girl blurted out; "dad's back and he's staying!"_

 _Connie froze._

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _I said daddy's back! He's going to work at St James'!" Grace squealed. "So you'll get to see me loads and loads now! All of us, like a proper family!"_

 _Her face was bright, flushed with excitement and her eyes seemed to glitter with happiness. Deciding not to ruin the mood, the clinical lead simply smiled._

 _"_ _That's brilliant darling, I've missed you so much. Come on, let's go into my office and catch up- I'm sure you've got lots to tell me." Connie held out her hand but the girl shook her head._

 _"_ _We need to wait for- oh he's here, never mind." She waved over to the doorway. And there, in one of those suits that fit in all the right places, stood Mr Sam Strachan._

…

"Where even are you?" The registrar said down the phone, which was now clamped between his ear and shoulder as he sped down the motorway.

"Timbuktu, where the hell do you think I am?!" Connie snapped on the other end of the phone before groaning loudly. "The ED. I thought you used to be bright."

"Yeah well, living with Grace and her mindless teen sitcoms takes its toll after a while." He snapped back. The line went quiet, apart from the disturbing sounds of Connie's breathing, and a moan every so often. Sam sighed, switching lanes.

"Look I'm just going to come out with it; why didn't you tell me?"

The breathing noises quietened before she answered him.

"It was just supposed to be just one night, not the rest of our lives."

…

 _It was the middle of winter, and England was receiving its worst snowfall in over 75 years. Temperatures plummeted to a dangerous -20'C during the night, and rarely made it to positive figures during the day. It was due to this snowfall that Sam and Grace ended up staying at Connie's for the night._

 _She was sat enjoying a glass of wine, curled up in an old blanket on the sofa when her mobile rang._

 _"_ _Sam." She said, voice expressionless as she sipped at the red liquid._

 _"_ _Connie, listen; our boiler's broken down and the street's so thick with bloody snow that there's no chance of anyone being able to fix it tonight. We've got no heat whatsoever."_

 _"_ _Is Grace alright?" She asked suddenly, putting down her glass._

 _"_ _She's fine. We both are." He said pointedly before going on._

 _"_ _But we're both frozen and my mother's is too far away to walk in this- it's really starting to come down out there. Could we spend the night at yours?"_

 _"_ _Well I can't exactly say no can I. Will you be alright walking? My road's not been gritted either."_

 _"_ _I'm sure we'll manage. Want me to bring anything?"_

 _"_ _Just your things, I kept most of Grace's stuff. And a take-away, if you go along the main road."_

 _"_ _Get your own bloody take-away!" he retorted, before a "oooh curry!" exclamation from Grace could be heard on the other end of the line. Connie could practically hear Sam's eye roll, and she smirked._

 _"_ _I'll have a Bombay aloo with a garlic naan and-"_

 _"_ _-and a portion of potato pakoras." He finished automatically._

 _The woman paused. "You remembered."_

 _Sam cleared his throat awkwardly._

 _"_ _Yeah well, some things just don't change. We shouldn't be long. Keep an eye out for us."_

 _"_ _I will. Make sure you're both wrapped up warm."_

 _"_ _No, I was thinking bathing shorts and flip flops…" Grace giggled in the background, evidently listening in to both sides of the conversation._

 _"_ _Sarcasm isn't an attractive quality, Strachan." Connie muttered. "See you soon."_

…

Sam reached the hospital ED in record time. He parked his car haphazardly in the car park and dashed in through the entrance. He caught sight of Charlie, peering over the many heads in reception and made his way to him.

"Sam, there you are. Come on, she's with Tess in HDU."

He led the way, Sam looking around as they half walked, half jogged.

"How is she?"

"Alright. Her waters broke about 2 hours ago, but her contractions started just after she phoned you."

"And medically speaking?" He prompted, but the nurse nodded, gesturing to a door on his left.

"Fine. In you go."

The registrar pushed open the door and went straight to her side. Her face was red, her hair was now sticky with sweat and all over the place, and her palms were sweaty. Nevertheless, when she grabbed hold of his hand, he didn't pull away.

"Sam?"

The man looked up and found Mr T stood by the doorway, grinning widely.

"Long time no see." The gynaecologist moved to Connie's bedside and shook his hand, before turning his attention to the current situation. Tess talked him through how things had gone so far.

"Does Grace know?" Sam asked, looking down at the woman on the bed. Her face scrunched up in pain for a minute before relaxing again, breathing heavily. She shook her head.

"Don't you think if she'd have known, she'd have told you-ooh!" She shut her eyes again as another contraction hit.

"Remember your breathing." He said calmly, becoming all the more aware of how close she was by the tightening of her grip on his hand.

"You look almost as red as you did after that curry we had." Sam tried to joke, but she just gave him one of her notorious death glares.

"Just because I'm in labour doesn't mean I can't slap you."

…

 _"_ _Is it a little hot?" Sam grinned, looking at the woman sat opposite him at the kitchen table. Connie's entire face had reddened, with some red blotches also appearing on her neck. She rolled her eyes and poured herself another glass of wine._

 _"_ _Shut up." She muttered, looking to Grace's plate which was now bare._

 _"_ _Goodness you must have been hungry." Her mother remarked. "Do you want the rest of my naan?"_

 _The girl shook her head and yawned. "No thank you, I'm full."_

 _"_ _And tired too by the looks of it. Why don't you get into your pajamas, it's getting late. They're on the radiator ready for you."_

 _"_ _Ok. Night daddy."_

 _"_ _Night sweetheart."_

 _"_ _I'll be up in a bit." Connie smiled, and she watched the small figure make her way into the hallway before pushing her plate away._

 _"_ _I'm full too. Do you want another beer before I start washing up?"_

 _Sam shook his head. "I'll do the washing up."_

 _"_ _Fine, I won't complain. I'll dry."_

 _They got to their jobs in silence, starting to enjoy each other's company._

 _"_ _You know," Connie said quietly, "that sofa isn't very comfy. It's full of lumps and bumps from god only knows what."_

 _"_ _Really?" the man replied, the corners of his mouth turning upwards slightly. "So where do you suggest I sleep?"_

 _"_ _Well the spare room is currently being used as storage until I get this new wardrobe, and Grace only has a single bed… I'm sure there's plenty of room in mine for the both of us?"_

 _Sam stopped what he was doing before looking directly at her. She seemed genuinely serious._

 _"_ _Are you sure that's such a good idea?" He said slowly. Connie continued to dry, nodding silently._

 _"_ _Well, it's only one night, I'm sure it won't hurt…"_

…

"Ok Connie I can see the head. When you get the urge to push then go for it, okay?" Mr T said, head bobbing up above the tops of her knees. She nodded, now panting heavily. Her labour with Grace wasn't this bad; it was all over in a matter of minutes. This baby seemed to take forever.

"Aaargh!" She groaned, pushing with all her might.

"I've got the head. One more big one and that should be it!" Sam had hold of one of her hands and Tess the other, both trapped in crippling grips.

"If my hand survives this it'll be a miracle." Sam muttered, looking to Tess who just winced as the woman began to push again.

"Come on, that's it-" Mr T encouraged her until there was a small, innocent cry.

"You've got a beautiful baby girl." The gynaecologist grinned widely, quickly weighing the wriggling infant before wrapping her in a towel. Tess picked her up and looked to the woman on the bed who now had tears in her eyes.

"Are you up for a cuddle?" She asked, and the brunette immediately nodded. Tess placed the small bundle in her arms, and watched on as Connie fell in love all over again.

"Hello you." She whispered, watching the baby's tiny hand wrap around her finger. Sam too was tearful.

"She's beautiful Connie. Absolutely beautiful." He breathed, stroking her head.

"I know." The woman smiled up at him. "She has my genes."

"Oh yeah, of course." He shook his head, still smiling. "Though I'm pretty sure that's my nose."

"It is not!" Connie protested indignantly, "I'm nearly 100% sure that's my mothers."

"Whatever. Though if she's anything like Grace then she'll have your eyes for definite. Tiny brown orbs flecked with gold."

"Sam they're classed as hazel."

"If you say so." He put his hands up in defeat before sighing happily. "Have you thought about names?"

Connie looked down at the small sleeping beauty; her second gorgeous princess, and nodded firmly.

"Isabella."

"Isabella Beauchamp…" Sam tried it out before smiling widely. "Perfect."


End file.
